Contractors have begun a multimillion dollar renovation of Clarksville’s Green Tree Mall that’s expected to be completed in October.

The project marks the first major upgrades to the 46-year-old mall off Lewis & Clark Parkway since 1994, said Helen Bryant, general manager of the mall for CBL & Associates Properties Inc. of Chattanooga, Tenn.

“The biggest change that I think customers will really love will be the updated facades and entrances. Obviously, they’re very dated,” Bryant said.

New signs, lighting, doors, sidewalks and landscaping will be added, as well as other new amenities that Bryant said will help bring a modern look to the mall, including new seating areas and retail kiosks in the mall concourse. Renovations also will be made to the restrooms and children’s play area.

Bryant and CBL regional marketing specialist Stacey Keating declined to say how much the renovations would cost.

One thing that won’t change is the mall’s turtle statues, which many longtime mall patrons remember climbing on when they were growing up. Bryant said the turtles will be placed back in the play area once it is remodeled.

“That is something that is very historical with this property,” Bryant said.

Loyd and Loeta Flener, a retired couple from New Albany, are looking forward to the seating upgrades, noting that some of the current cloth seats are threadbare in spots.

The Fleners are among those who regularly walk around the mall’s climate-controlled interior perimeter, covering about 2 miles most days for the past four years. They also shop occasionally at longtime anchor tenants J.C. Penney and Sears, as well as LensCrafters and Dillard’s.

Loyd Flener wiped his brow as he took a break from walking and sat on a wooden bench near the western mall entrance Tuesday. He said he hopes the changes will attract more shoppers without driving up prices.

“I used to go to Louisville, but I won’t hardly cross that bridge anymore” because of the added traffic delays from Ohio River Bridges Project construction, he said.

In May 2013, the mall was purchased by Chicago-based GIV Green Tree Mall Investor LLC for about $67.8 million, according to Clark County property records. It first opened in 1968.

It has about 70 stores totaling roughly 800,000 square feet of space. It was upgraded in the mid-1990s amid increased competition from nearby River Falls Mall, much of which later closed and is now largely occupied by Bass Pro Shops.

J.C. Penney and Sears were joined by co-anchors Burlington Coat Factory, Dillard’s and T.J. Maxx.

Dillard’s completed an expansion in 2005 and J.C. Penney expanded its store in 2006, Bryant said.

The mall renovation project is being done by Pepper Construction of Indiana, an arm of Chicago-based Pepper Construction Group, which also has offices in Illinois, Ohio and Texas.

“Our goal is to wrap up the project just in time for the holiday shopping season,” Bryant said. “And when we finish, we will have a celebration with special events, prizes and fun activities.”

Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write.